Principal Christine Matos, right, gives a sneak peak of Currie Middle School's new gymnasium to students Ricki Najera, Carlos Sanchez and Vicente Luis, from left, in Tustin. The yearlong project gives the school its first gymnasium, costing $6.5 million.

Students Dilan Solares, left, and Henry Medina read in the library at Currie Middle School in Tustin. The school's recent "ireboot" campaign has emphasized the changes since current principal Christine Matos took over.

Books line a windowsill at Currie Middle School in Tustin. The school has completed upgrades that put windows, computers and bulletin boards in classrooms.

Algebra teacher Jamie Ernst writes out an answer on a projected computer lesson at Currie Middle School in Tustin. The school recently has upgraded classes with computerized aids.

New computers and bulletin boards are part of the upgrades initiated at Currie Middle School in Tustin. The school has been moving up in rankings since Principal Christine Matos took over.

Sixth-grade instructor Sean Gallagher watches over students from behind a computerized teacher's station at Currie Middle School in Tustin. The technological upgrade was one of many completed in the recent renovation.

Sixth-grade students Alejandra Sanchez, left, and Katelyn Arellano work on a haiku wiki page on new computers at Currie Middle School in Tustin.

Students Careli Barrios, left, and Michelle Robles listen during their algebra class at Currie Middle School in Tustin.

Currie Middle School in Tustin, which has long struggled with low test scores, has climbed out of federal sanctions and achieved the state's target for Academic Performance Index scores.

Years of dismal test scores had the school floundering under federal sanctions, prompting a multitude of families to flee.

Currie, composed almost entirely of impoverished students and a large contingent of English-language learners, became the school to avoid in the Tustin Unified School District, a poor alternative to its often stellar sister schools.

That was four years ago.

Today, the school is soaring to success after clawing its way out of federal sanctions despite ever-rising performance targets, luring back parents and even winning a nomination for a federal Blue Ribbon award.

The difference? New leadership and a renewed focus on excellence.

“We haven’t changed the kids we receive,” said Principal Christine Matos, who took charge of the school in 2010 as part of a concerted effort by Tustin Unified to reverse its fortunes. “We changed the way they approach the learning.”

For its dramatic improvement over several years, culminating in a 47-point surge in its Academic Performance Index in 2012, Currie is honored this year by the Orange County Register as a model of improvement.

The campus, ranked in the bottom 10 of the Register’s first middle school rankings in 2009, has earned the No. 8 spot in 2013.

It’s been a long, challenging climb back.

Currie’s population includes 92.3 percent low-income students – the most of any Tustin middle school – and 68 percent English learners, Matos said.

And, although the school consistently performed well compared with schools with a similar level of demographic challenges, its overall scores had tanked.

The school posted an Academic Performance Index score of 706 in 2009 – nearly 100 points below the state’s target. In 2003, it fell under federal sanctions for missing No Child Left Behind targets, bringing rules that allowed parents to switch schools into play and requiring district changes in leadership and staff.

Under Matos, the school changed nearly everything, including schedules, curriculum and dress codes. The goal was to structure the school day so students would be able to focus on the issues essential to success.

“We just have to tap into making sure their ability shines through the challenge,” Matos said.

Administrators demanded flexibility from teachers, parents and students as they experimented with varied approaches.

Currie dramatically boosted the amount of time students spend on English language and math. The bell schedule lengthened, with school from 7:50 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. Students who don’t need help with English can take an elective such as art or music.

In 2010, all students were placed in a two-period math class. The longer class gives teachers time to ensure that students absorb the material.

Eighth-grader Vanessa Cuellar, 13, said the 88-minute class makes it easier to tackle the tough concepts.

“Sometimes I struggle,” Cuellar said. “It gives me more time to understand.”

Classes also are added as needed, such as a supplemental reading class that began Feb. 4 because staff members weren’t seeing students improve their reading levels. Teachers say they work together now across grade levels and departments to plan lessons and ensure that students learn necessary skills.

Students who struggle get help during “den,” a homeroom-style period in which students are assigned to a teacher to practice what they have learned or review or be retaught materials in math and language arts.

Changes to the physical campus also have opened the way to innovations.

Three main buildings created in the 1970s as part of the open-classroom movement were gutted over the summer. Now, the classrooms have walls, doors and windows. On Feb. 20, the school opened its $6.5 million activity center, which has two classrooms, an indoor gym and a performance space.

The 35 classrooms have interactive whiteboards, an iPad, laptop, five student computers, a document camera and a sound system to ensure that all students can hear the teacher. And teachers no longer have traditional desks. They teach from raised media stations.

That’s where eighth-grade language arts and social studies teacher Jennifer Rodriguez is perched while giving one-on-one reading assessments. The rest of the students sit and quietly devour literature they’ve chosen. Although many have physical books, others are reading on iPads or phones.

A quick glance around the room shows the books reflecting a wide variety of interests, including traditional school titles such as “Holes” by Louis Sachar, the pop fiction of “Deep Down Popular” by Phoebe Stone and the thriller “Execution: Escape from Furnace 5” by Alexander Gordon Smith.

“If something doesn’t work, we try to change and make it work,” Rodriguez said. “That’s what’s awesome about this campus.”

The results show the effort is working. Currie’s dismal API score? After hovering around 700 for years, it jumped 44 points in 2011 and 47 points in 2012, reaching 801.

Meanwhile, the school muscled its way out of federal sanctions – a rare accomplishment, especially given how federal performance targets rise yearly.

In fact, Currie is one of only two Orange County middle schools to exit the sanctions, called Program Improvement, in the past year.

“Once you’re in PI, it’s extremely difficult to exit,” Matos said. “We’ve done that in the last two years. It’s just remarkable.”

The school’s last challenge is convincing the community. Teachers and administrators invite residents to visit the new campus, and they are opening classroom doors to show quality education, Matos said.

Tanya Mosqueda enrolled her son and daughter this year. Mosqueda watched test scores rise the past two years and was impressed by the cleanliness of the campus and use of technology in classrooms.

She’s encouraging her friends to move their children to Currie.

“We’ve risen from one of the lowest schools,” said 14-year-old Rick Najera, an eighth-grader. “It was a troubled school. But now it’s improved a lot.”

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